In December 2016, I witnessed David Gray’s masterclass at the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh.
I am in love with the experience of listening to singer/songwriters perform their own work.  Because they KNOW it, they live it, they understand.  There is a magic in that connection from heart, gut, soul, to hands, voice, instruments.

I did not know many of his songs, but I was consumed by his production.  He would begin a song with a bit of background music, record, and repeat.  And then a layer of melody, record, repeat.  Background vocals, a beat, and a few other layers would be performed one by one, and added to the growing complexity of the song.
{I remember watching a show about Motown music a few years ago, and hearing them discuss the layers of music, and the fullness the layers provided.  Music from that era has always been among my favorite, and now I know why.}

At one point, David started to talk about the layering of music, and I started to...

Fear is one of my favorite topics. Ever.
I love the ways in which people respond when you touch upon fear. Usually, they either dive into the conversation, happy for an outlet or opportunity to process and understand, or clam up, close off, sink down.
We all have fears, and there will always be a degree of fear in our experiences, but what I find fascinating is the ways in which we respond to the fears within.

Really, we have two choices:
1. Face the fears, do our best to understand them, and then deal with the ‘stuff’ that we have attached.
2. Avoid it.

The problem with option 2 is that you don’t really get to avoid it. You can try. You can blind yourself, numb yourself, run away, but ultimately, your fears will not resolve until you choose option 1.
I am always able to recognize the most successful, balanced, harmonious people based on how they respond to fear.

Here is the truth about fear (which you will hopefully find to be a huge relief):
Fear is a lie.
Your fears...